After narrowly winning an Olympic thriller, Noah Lyles is looking for an encore in his favorite event

SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) — All the overhead shots and race replays tell the identical story. Noah Lyles has led just once in his Olympic 100-meter sprint history: on the finish line.

It’s protected to say the remainder of his time on the Paris Games won’t be as rosy.

With the Olympics still buzzing after his 0.005-second victory in the 100-meter dash, Lyles didn’t have much time to rest before moving on to the following event. He’s the clear favorite in the 200, his higher event, a race he hasn’t lost since ending third in the Tokyo Olympic final three years ago. The first heats of the 200 are scheduled for Monday evening.

Lyles’ willingness — or somewhat, his desire — to be the face of a sport that is hungry for latest fans strikes World Athletics CEO Seb Coe as a game-changer, calling Sunday’s race “if not perfect, then as close to perfect as you can get.”

“If I was going to wear a promoter’s hat, his victory last night was important because now it creates a narrative that takes us back to Usain Bolt territory,” Coe said. “That’s hugely important.”

Lyles made no secret of what he wanted out of all this.

During his typically candid and interesting post-race press conference, Lyles made no secret of the undeniable fact that he wanted to advertise his sport, but he wanted more.

He fronted the favored Netflix documentary SPRINT and brought fashion back to the racetrack by introducing the “walk-in” custom and adorning his hair with white pearls on race day.

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Now he has a message for his shoe sponsor, Adidas.

“I want my own shoes,” he said. “I want my own coach. I’m dead serious. I want sneakers. There’s no money in spikes, there’s money in sneakers. I think that with the amount of medals we’re going to bring home and the fame we’re going to get, the fact that it hasn’t happened is crazy to me. I think it has to happen.”

What could slow Lyles down in his quest for Olympic sprint glory?

The 100 was Lyles’ biggest hurdle to beat. It’s not his best race, and it’s one he entered shortly after Tokyo with the intention of becoming greater than only a sprinter, but a larger-than-life personality, each on and off the track.

Lyles is also expecting a giant performance in the lads’s 4 × 100-meter relay, but that is removed from certain.

Due to poor baton work, a scarcity of consistent training habits, a positive doping test and the constant threat of attempting to beat Bolt, the U.S. has not won or retained an Olympic medal in the event since 2004. It has not won a gold since 2000.

He could have competitors in the 200 meters, nevertheless it is difficult to beat him

The relay poses a greater threat to Lyles’ quest for three gold medals, as Bolt has done in each of his three appearances, than the 200-meter dash.

Lyles will face his biggest challenge in the 200-meter dash, with Kenny Bednarek awaiting him in Tokyo, who recently forced him to beat him in the Olympic speed race, which Lyles won in a time of 19.53.

Also in the running are Botswana’s Letsile Tobogo, American Erryion Knighton and defending champion Andre De Grasse. An interesting bet could be whether Lyles is more more likely to lose the race or to lower his American record of 19.31. Bolt’s world record is 19.19.